You may have heard of a former professional baseball right fielder born on May 18, 1946, in the United States. In Major League Baseball, he played for the Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and California Angels (MLB). He is then inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.
He is and always will be the finest. Visit his top 64 inspiring quotations that will motivate you to succeed.
“A baseball swing is a highly refined instrument.”
It’s repetition, repetition, repetition, and then some more.”“The only thing that separates me from those other great Yankees is my skin color.”
“I’m not going to win a Gold Glove with a can of spray paint.”
“They pay off for playing ball in October.”
“Nobodies don’t get booed by fans.”
“Being a superstar… may make life extremely difficult, making it harder to grow.”
So I like to hang out with my buddies, listen to some excellent music, drink some decent wine, maybe go for a drive in the country in a nice car, or… simply walk down the beach.”“You don’t go up against Nolan Ryan without rest.”
He’s the only opponent who makes me go to bed before midnight.”“I try to be as honest as possible.”
I give everything I have.
But I don’t let anyone stand in my way.”“When people doubt you and don’t believe you can do it, and you struggle and wonder whether they’re right, it drives you to be successful and a great player.”
“Willingness to win is meaningless if you don’t get paid for it.”
“The greatest manager has a talent for making ballplayers believe they are better than they are.”
12th of 64 Quotes by Reggie Jackson
“After Jackie Robinson, Reggie Jackson is the most influential black in baseball history.”
“I am the best baseball player.”
“I’d like to be able to ignite a small fire.”
“I didn’t come to New York to be a celebrity; I carried my celebrity with me.”
“I don’t mind being defeated, but I despise losing.”
“I find it difficult to believe that athletes are pricey.”
Give up if the owner is losing money.
It’s a company.
“I’m not sure why owners would stay if they were losing money.”“I’m human, and I’ve been playing with my buttocks for ten years.”
I’m neither a slacker or a jerk; I’m a baseball player.”“There are ten people in the building I live in on Park Avenue who could purchase the Yankees, but none of them could hit the ball out of Yankee Stadium.”
“Please, God, allow me to hit one.”
I’m going to tell everyone you did it.”“I don’t like playing in the World Series because I can’t watch myself play.”
“When you line a pitch, it’s as if you’ve thought of something and put it there with lovely clarity.”
“Do you know what it means to have played this game for ten years and gone to bat seven thousand times and gotten two thousand hits?”
It signifies you’ve gone from 0 to 5000.”“You know, this game isn’t really enjoyable when you’re simply hitting 247.”
“Hitting is preferable to sex.”
“I was reminded that a billion people in China don’t care if we lose and I struck out.”
“Babe Ruth was fantastic.
“I’m just fortunate.”“Ken Holtzman can pitch a game in 90 minutes.”
I’m not going to toss a breaking ball.
And he had an excellent breaking ball.”“I’d try to make eye contact with the pitcher when I headed to home plate in a game-tying position or with a chance to accomplish something and help the ballclub win one.”
“In 1978, we were playing Baltimore at Yankee Stadium, and the score was 3 – 3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning.
I took the first pitch against Tippy Martinez, a small left-hander who always caused me trouble, and the count was three-and-oh.”“Everyone in the league was aware that I struggled with the inside pitch.
I barely got away with it because most pitchers were frightened of making a mistake in that position.
One of the best tools you have in the batter’s box is the threat of power.”“The pitcher and batter compete for at least three types of advantages.”
There are three types of advantages: physical, strategic, and psychological.
I didn’t want to settle for two out of three.
“I desired them all.”
Reggie Jackson Quote No. 33 of 64
“When I hit, I felt in command of the home-plate area, and it was critical that I did.”
Allowing the pitcher to manipulate it would give him an advantage.”“When I went into the box, I felt like the at-bat was mine.”
Everyone else was there for my benefit.
The pitcher was waiting for me to hit a ball.
If he didn’t give me what I wanted the first time, the catcher was there to throw it back to him.
And the umpire was fortunate to be close enough to observe.”“The pitcher has possession of the ball, and nothing happens until he releases it.”
As the batter, I felt compelled to battle for any measure of control I could have.
I was expecting the umpire, catcher, and pitcher to wait for me.
I wanted to prepare on my own pace.”“There is no doubt that black players were targeted more in the 1950s and 1960s.”
That is not a negative remark.
It may appear that way, but that is how it was.
Hitting another player was acceptable; hitting another player in the head was not.”“When you strike a player in the head, you’re more likely to get some fisticuffs or bring both teams out on the field, but it was more accepted – in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s.”
I believe it is over-policed nowadays because I will always believe that knocking a hitter down, even hitting a hitter at times, is part of baseball.”“If you can’t see the rotation and identify if it’s a sink – a fastball, you have to be able to tell if it’s a two-seamer or a four-seamer.”
You must be able to distinguish between a slider and a curveball.
You must be able to distinguish between a changeup and a split-finger.”“They’d name a candy bar after me if I played in New York.”
“I’m sick of hearing people say, ‘Reggie Jackson needs New York, the media, and the spotlight.’
I’ve always had it whenever I needed it.”“I work for ABC television and have my own syndicated television show.”
I’ve appeared on the covers of ‘Time Magazine’ and ‘Sports Illustrated’ five times.”“I run a business.”
I bring my bat, glove, and attache case to work every day.
I don’t care if the other employees in the office like me or not.”“I am more than just a baseball player.”
I am a black man who has done what he desires, gotten what he desires, and will continue to do so.”“Nature is really important to me.”
Which may be the extent of my problems in New York.
“I’m going to miss the trees!”“I’ve never understood Billy Martin.”
I refused to accept how he managed me.
I didn’t agree with the way he handled Ken Holtzman.
“I believed there was anti-Semitism there.”“I think I hit about 35 balls into the right-field bleachers.”
“I know how difficult it is to shoot the basketball, therefore I have a lot of respect for it.”
“Everyone has a Reggie story.”
“I’ve always had the ability to hear and read what I’m going to say before I speak it.”
That is why I make an excellent quote.
Or perhaps a good interview.
If I say anything that makes someone uncomfortable, it’s because it’s true; I just happen to express it.
However, it is the truth.
That is not my opinion.”“Do you know what Ali meant to black people?”
He was the leader of a nation, Black America’s leader.
As a young black man, I was embarrassed by my skin color and my hair.
And Ali made me happy.”“Ali helped bring black people in our country out of mental enslavement.
Because of Ali, the entire experience of being black changed for millions of people.”“The public always thought, ‘Reggie has a tremendous ego; he’s egotistical, boastful, and he needs everyone to look at him all the time,’ because that’s what the media told them.”
Wrong.
I could handle the spotlight.
I didn’t allow my performance suffer as a result of the focus.
But I was never in need of attention.”
Reggie Jackson Quotes No. 53 of 64
“This is what happens when you get old and have a few dollars.”
You travel back in time and try to relive your youth.”“I never thought of Kirby Puckett as a Hall of Famer.”
Gary Carter does not strike me as a Hall of Famer.
Don Sutton did not strike me as a Hall of Famer.
Phil Niekro did not strike me as a Hall of Famer.
As much as I respect Jim Rice, I’m not certain he belongs in the Hall of Fame.”“In our society, I represent both the underdog and the overdog.”
“Lee May is roughly the same age as myself and has similar stats.
So how come he’s making around $1.8 million and I’m the greatest freaking paid player in the game?
I’ll tell you why: I stuffed the seats with beef!”“You can be the next Jim Brown in football or the next Reggie Jackson in baseball.”
“I’d be in trouble if I played today.”
I suppose I’d spend all of my time in the commissioner’s office.
I’d be everywhere, including places I shouldn’t be.”“I couldn’t condone racial slurs used at guys like Elliott Maddox or Billy Sample.”
“There comes a point when you answer a question that someone asks you.
I don’t believe I said anything venomous.
That’s what you do if you can articulate yourself without wrath and make it as appealing as possible.”“The way the story was recounted in ‘The Bronx is Burning’ really embarrassed me.”
64th Reggie Jackson Quotes
“I’m very sure I never saw Casey Stengel when I was being scouted.”
And how could you go in a ballpark and not notice Casey Stengel?”“In the truest sense of the phrase, Billy Martin was a human tragedy.”
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